As a journalist by trade, I really try to avoid falling for clickbait articles and I try even harder to avoid giving them any more attention than they actually deserve, but today, a gentleman writing for a business publication posited that the growing number of cosplayers in America is bad for the economy.

He starts off with a decent question--Japan's youth experienced a costume and fantasy boom when the country's economy busted. Does America's own cosplay boom mean the same thing? But as many people have said in response to the article, correlation does not imply causation. Is it a brutal time to look for work? Absolutely. Is there a growing disillusionment among young people with regards to their job prospects? Certainly. But are they escaping into dressing up as fantastical characters to avoid reality?

Come on now. Has this writer actually spoken to a single cosplayer? Ever?

I'm a part-time cosplay photographer. I spend a lot of time around cosplayers, even if I'm not one myself. And the idea that these artists are delving into cosplay as a way of refusing to look for gainful employment is one of the more ridiculous hypotheses I've seen in a long time.

Cosplay is hard. Cosplay requires commitment and hard work. Many of the cosplayers I've met are working in some way to monetize their art, as models, crafters, fabricators, costumers, seamstresses, photoshoppers. While many do cosplay for the simple fun of it, the majority are actively looking for a way to weave their love of cosplay into the economy. They aren't escaping into fantasy--they are pursuing the American dream of incorporating the things they love and the things they are skilled at into a professional, gainful employment.

This does not even address the fact that cosplay is expensive--hardcore cosplayers spend thousands of dollars on their looks in raw materials. So even those who are not trying to turn their craftwork into a professional endeavor are taking part in the American economy with their money.

And the writer specifically mentioned menial labor as the work cosplayers are actively avoiding looking for. This may in fact be his most egregious bit of poking the proverbial tiger. I know more cosplayers with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) degrees than any other background. They're engineers, software designers, scientists, academics. In many cases, they use these backgrounds in their cosplay, taking skills they've learned in the professional world to build a better costume. There's no shame in a day's hard work, but "menial" is the last word anyone who has spent time with the cosplay community would think of when considering this group's available professional skills.

Hell, I bet the men and women of the 501st could build their own First World economy with their backgrounds. There are some very smart, very talented, and very motivated people crafting costumes out there, ostensibly for fun. Better yet--they have a sense of community service. Just take a look at the 501st's list of charity events.

But let's face it. Just like most inflammatory articles (thinking back to a certain article telling adults they should be ashamed to read YA fiction), the writer did his job--he got a specific group of people upset and riled up by throwing out a negative opinion. I do wish the article had done a better job looking at the similarities and differences in the cosplay booms of both Japan and America. Perhaps by digging a little deeper, he might have found out about the intriguing micro-economy of the cosplay world. That's one article I'd happily click away at.